Lance Corporal Maurice John Dwyer
Maurice Dwyer was already 32 years old and a married man with four children by the time he set out into Burma in 1943. From Widnes in Lancashire and formerly an employee of the phosphorus manufacturing company Albright and Wilson, he had already seen action in WW2 with the BEF in France in 1940, here serving with the Pioneer Corps.
Here are his details from the CWGC:
www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1292022/DWYER,%20MAURICE%20JOHN
Re-joining the Kings Regiment and placed into the 13th battalion, fate took him out to India and eventually part of Wingate's first Chindit expedition. Maurice was assigned a place in No. 7 Column on Longcloth and came under the direct command of Captain Leslie Cottrell, the column Adjutant. Dwyer was part of the column Support Platoon and in the early weeks of the operation shadowed Wingate's own HQ Brigade. He is also mentioned in the column War diary for the mission (see documents details on the 'Sources and Knowledge' page).
When the order for dispersal was given in late March, the commanders of 7 Column all agreed to make for the Chinese borders in order to escape the clutches of the many Japanese search parties.
From the No. 7 Column War diary:
"Very wet conditions. Column left the village of Tantzu-Pa on 27/05/43, the following men were physically unfit to continue the march, Lance Corporals Brown, Short and Dwyer."
So, Dwyer and the other men remained behind at Tantzu-Pa in the care of Chinese troops and doctors. The sick and wounded men of 7 Column were moved slowly toward the Chinese hospital at Paoshan. Here is a quote from the Missing in Action reports for the 13th Kings in 1943, it comes from Pte. J. Harvey who was a member of No. 5 Column that year:
"I was originally in column 5 of Brigadier Wingate's operation in 1943, on dispersal I became attached to column 7 under Captain CottrelI. I was in Chinese hands in the village of Lima, on 2nd June Lance Corporal Dwyer died. I believe he was suffering from malaria, but he was not wounded."
This was the last mention of Maurice Dwyer in any records that I have seen. It is to be presumed that the Chinese buried him and the casualties from Tantzu-Pa in the village of Lima or nearby. Maurice's resting place was never discovered after the war was over and so he is remembered upon Face 5 of the Rangoon Memorial in Taukkyan War Cemetery, located on the northern outskirts of Rangoon.
Seen below is a gallery of images in relation to this story, including Maurice's inscriptions upon both the Rangoon Memorial and the Widens Cenotaph. Please click on any image to bring it forward on the page.
Here are his details from the CWGC:
www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1292022/DWYER,%20MAURICE%20JOHN
Re-joining the Kings Regiment and placed into the 13th battalion, fate took him out to India and eventually part of Wingate's first Chindit expedition. Maurice was assigned a place in No. 7 Column on Longcloth and came under the direct command of Captain Leslie Cottrell, the column Adjutant. Dwyer was part of the column Support Platoon and in the early weeks of the operation shadowed Wingate's own HQ Brigade. He is also mentioned in the column War diary for the mission (see documents details on the 'Sources and Knowledge' page).
When the order for dispersal was given in late March, the commanders of 7 Column all agreed to make for the Chinese borders in order to escape the clutches of the many Japanese search parties.
From the No. 7 Column War diary:
"Very wet conditions. Column left the village of Tantzu-Pa on 27/05/43, the following men were physically unfit to continue the march, Lance Corporals Brown, Short and Dwyer."
So, Dwyer and the other men remained behind at Tantzu-Pa in the care of Chinese troops and doctors. The sick and wounded men of 7 Column were moved slowly toward the Chinese hospital at Paoshan. Here is a quote from the Missing in Action reports for the 13th Kings in 1943, it comes from Pte. J. Harvey who was a member of No. 5 Column that year:
"I was originally in column 5 of Brigadier Wingate's operation in 1943, on dispersal I became attached to column 7 under Captain CottrelI. I was in Chinese hands in the village of Lima, on 2nd June Lance Corporal Dwyer died. I believe he was suffering from malaria, but he was not wounded."
This was the last mention of Maurice Dwyer in any records that I have seen. It is to be presumed that the Chinese buried him and the casualties from Tantzu-Pa in the village of Lima or nearby. Maurice's resting place was never discovered after the war was over and so he is remembered upon Face 5 of the Rangoon Memorial in Taukkyan War Cemetery, located on the northern outskirts of Rangoon.
Seen below is a gallery of images in relation to this story, including Maurice's inscriptions upon both the Rangoon Memorial and the Widens Cenotaph. Please click on any image to bring it forward on the page.
My thanks must go to Phil Jennett for the photographs of Maurice Dwyer and his inscription on the Widnes Cenotaph and for the pre-Burma details of his life. Since I first completed this short biography, Phil has sent me the following newspaper report from the Widnes Weekly News, dated Friday 17th September 1943:
WIDNES SOLDIER
Death in India
The sad news came to Widnes on August 17th, of the death in India of Lance Corporal Maurice John Dwyer, of 20 Rose Street, at the age of 32 years. He died on June 2nd under tragic circumstances, as related in a letter from his O.C., Capt. H.C. Cotton.
“It is with the deepest regret that I write to inform you of the death of your husband. It is tragic that, having gone all the way through a hard campaign, he should have passed away after reaching safety. Your husband may have mentioned that he was in the Support platoon, and I am sorry to say that his platoon commander is missing. The commanding officer and all ranks in the battalion join me in tendering to you our most sincere sympathy to you in your sad loss.”
Lance Corporal Dwyer was an old boy of St. Patrick’s School, and a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. James Dwyer, 9 Water Street, Widnes. He was on the reserves, and was called up at the outbreak of hostilities. He was one of the first to land with the B.E.F. in France, and one of the last to leave when France capitulated. In civilian life he worked at the Albright and Wilson Works. He leaves a wife (formerly Miss Mary Hamilton, of Victoria Street) and four little children. Three brothers, ten cousins and three brothers-in-law are in the Forces; and his wife’s cousin is also on service.
WIDNES SOLDIER
Death in India
The sad news came to Widnes on August 17th, of the death in India of Lance Corporal Maurice John Dwyer, of 20 Rose Street, at the age of 32 years. He died on June 2nd under tragic circumstances, as related in a letter from his O.C., Capt. H.C. Cotton.
“It is with the deepest regret that I write to inform you of the death of your husband. It is tragic that, having gone all the way through a hard campaign, he should have passed away after reaching safety. Your husband may have mentioned that he was in the Support platoon, and I am sorry to say that his platoon commander is missing. The commanding officer and all ranks in the battalion join me in tendering to you our most sincere sympathy to you in your sad loss.”
Lance Corporal Dwyer was an old boy of St. Patrick’s School, and a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. James Dwyer, 9 Water Street, Widnes. He was on the reserves, and was called up at the outbreak of hostilities. He was one of the first to land with the B.E.F. in France, and one of the last to leave when France capitulated. In civilian life he worked at the Albright and Wilson Works. He leaves a wife (formerly Miss Mary Hamilton, of Victoria Street) and four little children. Three brothers, ten cousins and three brothers-in-law are in the Forces; and his wife’s cousin is also on service.
Another document that has come to light since first writing the story of Maurice Dwyer. It is the very last hand written nominal roll concerning the known personnel of 7 Column and their whereabouts as of 5th June 1943. It was compiled by the column Adjutant Captain Leslie Cottrell and confirms the column strength at 141 men, then breaks thees down into rank and parent unit.
As you might be able to see, it includes the men left at Tantzu-Pa that year, as well as the other soldiers still in hospital at Paoshan under the care of their Chinese doctors. Sadly, many of the final 141 men did not make it back to India in 1943, this included men like Maurice Dwyer and William McIntyre. Even more tragic (if that is possible), was that some of those who did manage to reach the casualty clearing station at Imphal, passed away as soon as their heads rested on those clean and starched hospital pillow cases.
Medical staff had seen this type of incident before, where men who had struggled against all odds to survive the expedition and had kept going purely on their own adrenaline, allowed their minds and bodies to relax thinking they were safe and the combined ravages of the expedition immediately took over and their bodies gave out. Please click on the image to the left to bring it forward on the page.
As you might be able to see, it includes the men left at Tantzu-Pa that year, as well as the other soldiers still in hospital at Paoshan under the care of their Chinese doctors. Sadly, many of the final 141 men did not make it back to India in 1943, this included men like Maurice Dwyer and William McIntyre. Even more tragic (if that is possible), was that some of those who did manage to reach the casualty clearing station at Imphal, passed away as soon as their heads rested on those clean and starched hospital pillow cases.
Medical staff had seen this type of incident before, where men who had struggled against all odds to survive the expedition and had kept going purely on their own adrenaline, allowed their minds and bodies to relax thinking they were safe and the combined ravages of the expedition immediately took over and their bodies gave out. Please click on the image to the left to bring it forward on the page.
Pte. Frederick John Hartnell
Fred Hartnell (pictured opposite, far right and in uniform) has always been one of the 13th Kings that I have held a soft spot for. He was one of the 20 or so Devon Regiment soldiers that, like my Grandad, found themselves guinea pig Chindits in the late summer of 1942. Fred's family came from the small village of Kennerleigh, near Tiverton in Devon, but he grew up in a nearby village called Witheridge.
It was here, whilst at school that he met Les Bourne and the two became firm friends. I made contact with Les Bourne in 2009 and he told me that Fred was "like a brother to me". I had tracked Les down through his article on the Witheridge village website about his own time as a Chindit with the Leicester's in 1944. I had collected some information about Fred's story in 1943 and wanted to pass this on.
Here is the link to Les Bourne's memoir: http://www.witheridge-historical-archive.com/bourne1.htm
The two boys were inseparable throughout their young school days and even though they lived amongst a traditional farming community, they both took up apprenticeships as carpenters after leaving school. They both also joined the Territorial Army in 1938, much to the horror and dismay of their respective mothers.
Witheridge, having a strong farming background, meant there was always the possibility of staying home and working on the land, rather than joining up into the forces. This is obviously what Mother's Bourne and Hartnell were hoping their boys would choose, but alas, this was not to be. In fact almost all the young men of the village chose to join up or were called up via their position in the TA. The village was to pay a heavy price. Seen below is a group photo of some of the young men of Witheridge, taken at the Plumer Barracks, Plymouth. It is a photo of part of the 6th battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. Fred Hartnell is seen, far left standing and Les Bourne, second from the right, sitting on the floor.
It was here, whilst at school that he met Les Bourne and the two became firm friends. I made contact with Les Bourne in 2009 and he told me that Fred was "like a brother to me". I had tracked Les down through his article on the Witheridge village website about his own time as a Chindit with the Leicester's in 1944. I had collected some information about Fred's story in 1943 and wanted to pass this on.
Here is the link to Les Bourne's memoir: http://www.witheridge-historical-archive.com/bourne1.htm
The two boys were inseparable throughout their young school days and even though they lived amongst a traditional farming community, they both took up apprenticeships as carpenters after leaving school. They both also joined the Territorial Army in 1938, much to the horror and dismay of their respective mothers.
Witheridge, having a strong farming background, meant there was always the possibility of staying home and working on the land, rather than joining up into the forces. This is obviously what Mother's Bourne and Hartnell were hoping their boys would choose, but alas, this was not to be. In fact almost all the young men of the village chose to join up or were called up via their position in the TA. The village was to pay a heavy price. Seen below is a group photo of some of the young men of Witheridge, taken at the Plumer Barracks, Plymouth. It is a photo of part of the 6th battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. Fred Hartnell is seen, far left standing and Les Bourne, second from the right, sitting on the floor.
Fred Hartnell would almost certainly have travelled to India on the same troopship as my Grandad and joined in with Chindit training in late summer 1942, probably straight into No. 7 Column at Saugor. Very much like Maurice Dwyer he would have been part of one of the infantry rifle platoons within that column. 7 Column spent most of their time in Burma, shadowing Wingate's Brigade HQ and often acting as rear guard for his Head Quarters.
Unfortunately, Fred became sick during the operation, as many of the soldiers did in 1943, in fact there were hardly any men who did not suffer with some sort of illness or another. When dispersal was called in late March and it was time to head back toward India, Fred found himself in a group of about 25 men, all of whom had either been wounded, injured or were so ill that there chances of making the long journey back were very limited indeed.
Major Gilkes, the 7 Column commander had decided that he wanted to take his men out toward the Chinese borders, that way avoiding the Japanese, who were closing in on the Chindit columns at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Shweli Rivers. He realised that the small party of sick and wounded would have no hope of making the longer and more arduous journey eastwards. He instructed a young Lieutenant from 7 Column, Rex Walker to take two officers (William Aird and Stephen Hector) and attempt to get these men out by going westward and directly back to the Assam/Burma border.
Here is a quote from the Missing in Action reports for 1943 and is from Leslie Cottrell, who was Adjutant and second in command of No. 7 Column:
"On April 10th we were on the Mongmit-Myitson road, Lieutenant Walker was ordered to take charge of a party of 3 officers and 25 BOR's. He was told to head westward toward the Irrawaddy and make for India by the most direct route. The group were armed and had ammunition, also they had two days hard scale rations per man. The officers had both maps and compasses. An air supply dropping was arranged for them just west of the Irrawaddy, but the party failed to make the rendezvous."
The group had not gone far when they bumped into a Japanese patrol and nothing is known about the party after that, except that Stephen Hector was killed on the 11th April, presumably whilst defending the men in his unit. Only a few of the men from this dispersal group ever made it home at the end of the war and those that did had to endure over two years as POW's to the Japanese inside Rangoon Jail. It was in Rangoon that Fred sadly died on 2nd July 1943, from his Japanese index card translation it states that he died at 8.40pm from the combination of malaria and malnutrition.
Here are Fred's CWGC details: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2260050/HARTNELL,%20FREDERICK%20JOHN
Fred was buried at the English Cantonment Cemetery in Rangoon, which was situated near the city zoo. All the men who perished in Rangoon Jail were buried there during 1943-45. After the war the Imperial Graves Commission set up cemeteries all over SE Asia including Rangoon War Cemetery and all the bodies from the Cantonment Cemetery were transferred over to Rangoon War Cemetery and this is where they lie to this day. Pictured above is Fred Hartnell's memorial plaque at Rangoon War Cemetery.
My attempts to trace any of Fred's family have sadly failed. Les Bourne told me that Fred's parents died within a few years of each other and that both his brother Stafford, and sister Rosalind have also passed away. Les has been a tremendous help to me in both providing valuable information about Fred Hartnell's early life and of course the wonderful photographs shown above, my heartfelt thanks go out to him and his family.
Unfortunately, Fred became sick during the operation, as many of the soldiers did in 1943, in fact there were hardly any men who did not suffer with some sort of illness or another. When dispersal was called in late March and it was time to head back toward India, Fred found himself in a group of about 25 men, all of whom had either been wounded, injured or were so ill that there chances of making the long journey back were very limited indeed.
Major Gilkes, the 7 Column commander had decided that he wanted to take his men out toward the Chinese borders, that way avoiding the Japanese, who were closing in on the Chindit columns at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Shweli Rivers. He realised that the small party of sick and wounded would have no hope of making the longer and more arduous journey eastwards. He instructed a young Lieutenant from 7 Column, Rex Walker to take two officers (William Aird and Stephen Hector) and attempt to get these men out by going westward and directly back to the Assam/Burma border.
Here is a quote from the Missing in Action reports for 1943 and is from Leslie Cottrell, who was Adjutant and second in command of No. 7 Column:
"On April 10th we were on the Mongmit-Myitson road, Lieutenant Walker was ordered to take charge of a party of 3 officers and 25 BOR's. He was told to head westward toward the Irrawaddy and make for India by the most direct route. The group were armed and had ammunition, also they had two days hard scale rations per man. The officers had both maps and compasses. An air supply dropping was arranged for them just west of the Irrawaddy, but the party failed to make the rendezvous."
The group had not gone far when they bumped into a Japanese patrol and nothing is known about the party after that, except that Stephen Hector was killed on the 11th April, presumably whilst defending the men in his unit. Only a few of the men from this dispersal group ever made it home at the end of the war and those that did had to endure over two years as POW's to the Japanese inside Rangoon Jail. It was in Rangoon that Fred sadly died on 2nd July 1943, from his Japanese index card translation it states that he died at 8.40pm from the combination of malaria and malnutrition.
Here are Fred's CWGC details: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2260050/HARTNELL,%20FREDERICK%20JOHN
Fred was buried at the English Cantonment Cemetery in Rangoon, which was situated near the city zoo. All the men who perished in Rangoon Jail were buried there during 1943-45. After the war the Imperial Graves Commission set up cemeteries all over SE Asia including Rangoon War Cemetery and all the bodies from the Cantonment Cemetery were transferred over to Rangoon War Cemetery and this is where they lie to this day. Pictured above is Fred Hartnell's memorial plaque at Rangoon War Cemetery.
My attempts to trace any of Fred's family have sadly failed. Les Bourne told me that Fred's parents died within a few years of each other and that both his brother Stafford, and sister Rosalind have also passed away. Les has been a tremendous help to me in both providing valuable information about Fred Hartnell's early life and of course the wonderful photographs shown above, my heartfelt thanks go out to him and his family.
Pte. Philip Hose
Pictured here is Philip Hose in his 'caubeen' regimental cap, probably from the Liverpool Irish battalion. Philip has always held a special place in my research into the 13th Kings, because he shares the grave reference 9.B.2 at Rangoon War Cemetery along with my Grandad, Arthur Howney.
Born in Liverpool in 1920, he lived with his parents William Hose and Elizabeth Hose nee Simpson, in their house on Warbreck Avenue, Aintree. Philip attended Orrell Council school as a child, eventually going to work on Rushton's Farm, near Maghull, Sefton.
Hose was Missing in Action from No. 7 Column very early on in the operation, lost on the 17th March. The column were not up to very much at this point, in fact both 7 & 8 Column were making preparations to cross the Irrawaddy River on the eastward outbound journey. This was perhaps the most difficult and fateful decision Wingate had to make in 1943; did he put his Chindits over the river and look to add to their knowledge and experiences, or cut and run while the going was still good and return to India. There is no doubt that his decision to proceed further into Burma eventually cost many men their lives.
The only mention of difficulties around the time of Hose's disappearance comes from within the 13th Kings War diary for March 1943:
"Column 7 had terrible hardship in getting their mules to swim the Irrawaddy and many were lost and some left on the western bank. Platoon 15 led by the Free Dane William Petersen was also engaged in minor skirmishes with Japanese patrols around this time."
Philip was reported captured on 22nd March 1943, he would have been one of the longest held POW's in the Burmese jungles that year and certainly would have seen the full array of POW camps used by the Japanese, places like Bhamo, Maymyo and of course Rangoon Jail.
Nothing else is known about Philip's time as a POW in Rangoon. He does feature on the Deaths in Block 6 lists found at the Imperial War Museum which have his date of death recorded as 18/02/1944. He has no Japanese index card that I can find, but I do know his POW number was 365 and his grave reference plot number for his original burial in the English Cantonment Cemetery is 155.
Here are Philip's CWGC details: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2260100/HOSE,%20PHILIP
Born in Liverpool in 1920, he lived with his parents William Hose and Elizabeth Hose nee Simpson, in their house on Warbreck Avenue, Aintree. Philip attended Orrell Council school as a child, eventually going to work on Rushton's Farm, near Maghull, Sefton.
Hose was Missing in Action from No. 7 Column very early on in the operation, lost on the 17th March. The column were not up to very much at this point, in fact both 7 & 8 Column were making preparations to cross the Irrawaddy River on the eastward outbound journey. This was perhaps the most difficult and fateful decision Wingate had to make in 1943; did he put his Chindits over the river and look to add to their knowledge and experiences, or cut and run while the going was still good and return to India. There is no doubt that his decision to proceed further into Burma eventually cost many men their lives.
The only mention of difficulties around the time of Hose's disappearance comes from within the 13th Kings War diary for March 1943:
"Column 7 had terrible hardship in getting their mules to swim the Irrawaddy and many were lost and some left on the western bank. Platoon 15 led by the Free Dane William Petersen was also engaged in minor skirmishes with Japanese patrols around this time."
Philip was reported captured on 22nd March 1943, he would have been one of the longest held POW's in the Burmese jungles that year and certainly would have seen the full array of POW camps used by the Japanese, places like Bhamo, Maymyo and of course Rangoon Jail.
Nothing else is known about Philip's time as a POW in Rangoon. He does feature on the Deaths in Block 6 lists found at the Imperial War Museum which have his date of death recorded as 18/02/1944. He has no Japanese index card that I can find, but I do know his POW number was 365 and his grave reference plot number for his original burial in the English Cantonment Cemetery is 155.
Here are Philip's CWGC details: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2260100/HOSE,%20PHILIP
Pictured left is the memorial plaque of Philip Hose at Rangoon War Cemetery, as mentioned earlier he shares the reference 9.B.2 with Pte. Arthur Howney. There are around 67 grave memorials with the inscription 'Buried Near This Spot' in Rangoon War Cemetery and this refers to the men whose remains could not be clearly identified after exhumation from the Cantonment Cemetery in 1946 and all of whom were re-interred towards the rear of the new cemetery grounds. Please click on the image to bring it forward on the page.
Many thanks go to James Hose, who I met via Facebook. James generously sent me the photograph of Philip and filled in some of his pre-WW2 family details.
Part of the POW journey of Pte. Hose features in another story now published on this website. To read more please click on the following link:
John Kerr, Early Days in Rangoon and a remarkable friendship
Update 01/12/2012.
I have recently re-read part of the diary I kept when out in Burma in March 2008, I found a small paragraph from my notes concerning the grave memorial of Philip Hose and my grandfather Arthur Howney. It should be remembered that at the time of the trip I did not know any details about their incarceration in Rangoon Jail. Here is the paragraph transcribed:
"I found out today that the soldier who shares Grandad's plot of 9.B.2, Private Phillip Hose, does have a connection more than purely alphabetical to his story. It seems that when the two men were relocated to Rangoon War Cemetery their remains were previously buried so close together that neither could be identified as one or the other. This tells me that the two have laid beside each other since their initial burial outside the jail grounds, until their final resting place at Rangoon War Cemetery.
Denis Gudgeon (a former Burma veteran also on the tour) mentioned something about how they buried the bodies of the soldiers outside the jail, on a piece of ground that was next door to Rangoon Zoo. I wonder now if that could have been Grandad's first resting place.
I also asked Jonnie (our Burmese tour guide) if there was any kind of memorial to the dead soldiers within the grounds of the jail. He said that there was not, and that the waste ground where the jail once stood was regarded as a very sensitive place in Burma today. This he explained was nothing to do with WW2, but more about the abuse of Burmese prisoners and their human rights when sent there by the current military government."
Update 02/12/2012.
Recently, I was pleased to receive an email from Alfred Hose who is a nephew of Pte.Philip Hose. This is what he had to say:
"Thank you so much for you efforts, I have tried for several years to find out about my Uncle and how he met his death, I knew about his pre-war life with my late Dad and that he was a Chindit. Any scrap of information about him will mean so much to me. I hope one day to visit his grave and honour him by placing an English red rose and soil from home there, then he will be buried with something that will be forever England."
After passing on what little I knew about Philip Hose to Alf he replied:
"Hello Steve. Thank so very much for your generous supply of information. If I come up with anything new for you about my Uncle I will certainly pass it on to you. Kinds regards Alf."
I sincerely hope to hear from Alf again soon.
Update 01/04/2017.
From the pages of the Liverpool Echo dated Friday 8th June 1945 and under the headline:
Local Casualties
Mr. and Mrs. Hose of 58 Warbeck Avenue, Aintree (Liverpool 9), have been informed that their son Private Philip Hose, the King's Regiment, died whilst a prisoner in Japanese hands on February 18th 1944. He was captured in Burma on March 22nd 1943. He was educated at Orrell Council School and before the war worked at Rushton's Farm, Maghull. He would have been 25 this month.
Many thanks go to James Hose, who I met via Facebook. James generously sent me the photograph of Philip and filled in some of his pre-WW2 family details.
Part of the POW journey of Pte. Hose features in another story now published on this website. To read more please click on the following link:
John Kerr, Early Days in Rangoon and a remarkable friendship
Update 01/12/2012.
I have recently re-read part of the diary I kept when out in Burma in March 2008, I found a small paragraph from my notes concerning the grave memorial of Philip Hose and my grandfather Arthur Howney. It should be remembered that at the time of the trip I did not know any details about their incarceration in Rangoon Jail. Here is the paragraph transcribed:
"I found out today that the soldier who shares Grandad's plot of 9.B.2, Private Phillip Hose, does have a connection more than purely alphabetical to his story. It seems that when the two men were relocated to Rangoon War Cemetery their remains were previously buried so close together that neither could be identified as one or the other. This tells me that the two have laid beside each other since their initial burial outside the jail grounds, until their final resting place at Rangoon War Cemetery.
Denis Gudgeon (a former Burma veteran also on the tour) mentioned something about how they buried the bodies of the soldiers outside the jail, on a piece of ground that was next door to Rangoon Zoo. I wonder now if that could have been Grandad's first resting place.
I also asked Jonnie (our Burmese tour guide) if there was any kind of memorial to the dead soldiers within the grounds of the jail. He said that there was not, and that the waste ground where the jail once stood was regarded as a very sensitive place in Burma today. This he explained was nothing to do with WW2, but more about the abuse of Burmese prisoners and their human rights when sent there by the current military government."
Update 02/12/2012.
Recently, I was pleased to receive an email from Alfred Hose who is a nephew of Pte.Philip Hose. This is what he had to say:
"Thank you so much for you efforts, I have tried for several years to find out about my Uncle and how he met his death, I knew about his pre-war life with my late Dad and that he was a Chindit. Any scrap of information about him will mean so much to me. I hope one day to visit his grave and honour him by placing an English red rose and soil from home there, then he will be buried with something that will be forever England."
After passing on what little I knew about Philip Hose to Alf he replied:
"Hello Steve. Thank so very much for your generous supply of information. If I come up with anything new for you about my Uncle I will certainly pass it on to you. Kinds regards Alf."
I sincerely hope to hear from Alf again soon.
Update 01/04/2017.
From the pages of the Liverpool Echo dated Friday 8th June 1945 and under the headline:
Local Casualties
Mr. and Mrs. Hose of 58 Warbeck Avenue, Aintree (Liverpool 9), have been informed that their son Private Philip Hose, the King's Regiment, died whilst a prisoner in Japanese hands on February 18th 1944. He was captured in Burma on March 22nd 1943. He was educated at Orrell Council School and before the war worked at Rushton's Farm, Maghull. He would have been 25 this month.
Pte. Frank James Watts
Frank Watts was another man that found himself in the Devonshire Regiment after enlistment into the Army during the early years of the war. A Londoner from New Cross, he was in his mid-twenties and had recently married.
The photograph you see (left) is of Frank (aged 25) and his new bride, Ivy, on their wedding day. It is the only photograph of Frank that his family possess. I received an email out of the blue in March 2010 from Anthony Watts, who is Frank's grandson. He had put some minor details about Frank into Google search and this had led him to an article I had written for the 'Devon Heritage' website, about the men from the Devon's who became Chindits in 1943.
Here is a link to the article: http://www.devonheritage.org/Nonplace/DevonReg/ChinditsSteveFogden1.htm
Tony told me that his father, Ken, had never known much about what had happened to Frank or his fate in Burma. The family were aware that he had been a POW for a time before his death in early June 1943. I hope that Tony will not mind me quoting from one of our email conversations, but this small sentence really does sum up what the families of these men have gone through over these past 65+ years.
"It is tragic that my Dad has known next to nothing about his own father for so long, I am sure that he will be touched to find out more about the man he never knew."
As with Fred Hartnell (see story number two on this page), Frank Watts found himself part of column 7 on Operation Longcloth in 1943. He too was part of the dispersal group led by Lieutenant Rex Walker in early April that year. This group of around 25 men, already sick with malaria or suffering from some kind of combat wound, were ordered to make for the safety of India, by the most direct westerly route. None succeeded in returning that year.
Frank was reported missing on the 10th April, this date is important because I know that the dispersal party had bumped into a Japanese patrol on this day. It is almost certain that the men who survived this action were taken prisoner on that date. With the family mentioning that Frank was a POW and had died in a prisoner of war camp, this leads me to believe that this was probably the Maymyo Camp (see Chindit POW's). His date of death being 01/06/1943, supports this theory as it was around late May that the Chindit prisoners began to be transported from Maymyo to Rangoon Jail.
Here are Frank Watts CWGC details: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2528332/WATTS,%20FRANK%20JAMES
Seen in the gallery below is the list of Rex Walker's dispersal group, who were given to him by Major Ken Gilkes in April 1943, with the hope of getting them all back to the safety of the Chindwin River and India. As mentioned before, none of them succeeded in making that journey. Please click on any image to bring it forward on the page.
Frank is remembered on the Rangoon Memorial found within the grounds of Taukkyan War Cemetery located on the outskirts of Rangoon. This is where men who have no known grave are commemorated. It is likely that he died, either in the Maymyo POW camp, or possibly on the journey down to Rangoon Central Jail. Either way, and I have been told this often by men who survived their time as prisoners of the Japanese in Rangoon, he would have been given a decent burial by his fellow Chindit comrades. Sadly, no definite POW details exist about Frank and I have found no Japanese index card relating to his POW status at the National Archives. My great thanks go to Ken and Anthony Watts for all their help and information towards this Chindit's story. To read more about the dispersal party led by Lt. Rex Walker in April 1943, please click on the following link: Rex Walker's Dispersal Group 4
The photograph you see (left) is of Frank (aged 25) and his new bride, Ivy, on their wedding day. It is the only photograph of Frank that his family possess. I received an email out of the blue in March 2010 from Anthony Watts, who is Frank's grandson. He had put some minor details about Frank into Google search and this had led him to an article I had written for the 'Devon Heritage' website, about the men from the Devon's who became Chindits in 1943.
Here is a link to the article: http://www.devonheritage.org/Nonplace/DevonReg/ChinditsSteveFogden1.htm
Tony told me that his father, Ken, had never known much about what had happened to Frank or his fate in Burma. The family were aware that he had been a POW for a time before his death in early June 1943. I hope that Tony will not mind me quoting from one of our email conversations, but this small sentence really does sum up what the families of these men have gone through over these past 65+ years.
"It is tragic that my Dad has known next to nothing about his own father for so long, I am sure that he will be touched to find out more about the man he never knew."
As with Fred Hartnell (see story number two on this page), Frank Watts found himself part of column 7 on Operation Longcloth in 1943. He too was part of the dispersal group led by Lieutenant Rex Walker in early April that year. This group of around 25 men, already sick with malaria or suffering from some kind of combat wound, were ordered to make for the safety of India, by the most direct westerly route. None succeeded in returning that year.
Frank was reported missing on the 10th April, this date is important because I know that the dispersal party had bumped into a Japanese patrol on this day. It is almost certain that the men who survived this action were taken prisoner on that date. With the family mentioning that Frank was a POW and had died in a prisoner of war camp, this leads me to believe that this was probably the Maymyo Camp (see Chindit POW's). His date of death being 01/06/1943, supports this theory as it was around late May that the Chindit prisoners began to be transported from Maymyo to Rangoon Jail.
Here are Frank Watts CWGC details: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2528332/WATTS,%20FRANK%20JAMES
Seen in the gallery below is the list of Rex Walker's dispersal group, who were given to him by Major Ken Gilkes in April 1943, with the hope of getting them all back to the safety of the Chindwin River and India. As mentioned before, none of them succeeded in making that journey. Please click on any image to bring it forward on the page.
Frank is remembered on the Rangoon Memorial found within the grounds of Taukkyan War Cemetery located on the outskirts of Rangoon. This is where men who have no known grave are commemorated. It is likely that he died, either in the Maymyo POW camp, or possibly on the journey down to Rangoon Central Jail. Either way, and I have been told this often by men who survived their time as prisoners of the Japanese in Rangoon, he would have been given a decent burial by his fellow Chindit comrades. Sadly, no definite POW details exist about Frank and I have found no Japanese index card relating to his POW status at the National Archives. My great thanks go to Ken and Anthony Watts for all their help and information towards this Chindit's story. To read more about the dispersal party led by Lt. Rex Walker in April 1943, please click on the following link: Rex Walker's Dispersal Group 4
Page Copyright © Steve Fogden 2011.